Reflecting on Memorial Day

This week began with Memorial Day, which probably looked a little different for everyone. 

For some, the holiday has just become an unofficial start to summer, and is a day for camping and cookouts. Some take advantage of sales. Some just enjoy the long weekend. For others it's basically just another Monday. 

But many, both locally and nationally, make sure to take time to observe and honor the true meaning of the day as a remembrance of the fallen service members of the US military. Even though the crowd was a little smaller than normal this year, members of the Green River community gathered at Riverview Cemetery Monday morning to participate in the annual ceremony hosted by the American Legion and VFW, keeping the tradition and remembrance alive. 

I'll be honest – Memorial Day almost passed me by this year as I was distracted with other things. But I was grateful that a few specific things came up that helped me pause and reflect. 

First, I learned more about the history of Memorial Day. While the day wasn't established as a federal holiday until 1971, the holiday was first observed nationally on May 30, 1868, by proclamation of General John Logan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers. The day was known as "Decoration Day," referencing the tradition of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers, and was marked with President Garfield giving a speech at Arlington National Cemetery. 

However, an event three years earlier is the earliest recorded observance of Decoration Day, setting the foundation for Memorial Day. In 1865, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered, newly-emancipated Black people in Charleston, South Carolina, worked to give proper burials to Union soldiers that had been buried in a mass grave at a racetrack that had been transformed into a prison. On May 1, 1865, a crowd of 10,000 people consisting mostly of freed formerly enslaved people and Black Union regiments staged a parade around the racetrack. While unrecognized and forgotten for much of history, this event was recorded in newspapers at the time, showing that one of the first Memorial Day observances was organized by emancipated Black people three years before the first national observance. 

Something else that made me pause and reflect this Memorial Day weekend was going to see the Actors' Mission's production of "The Diary of Anne Frank." While the play focuses on the famous family of Jews hiding from the Nazis, there are moments throughout it when the family celebrates and finds hope from the movements of the Allied Forces as they advance. It reminded me of one of the most atrocious wars the world has ever seen, and those who fought – and died – in it to push back against the fascism and hatred that led families to live in hidden attics and die in camps. The play is a powerful reminder of the horrors we've seen that we are coming too close to repeating. I strongly encourage everyone to go see it during its final showings this weekend. 

The last thing that gave me an extra sense of appreciation this Memorial Day was the article I wrote for this week's paper about a local veteran traveling to Washington, D.C. It was moving to hear about his experiences there, including his opportunity to remember the friends he lost in Vietnam when he visited the Vietnam Memorial. 

Hearing about that trip to D.C. reminded me of the one time I've been able to travel to our nation's capital, which was roughly 20 years ago now. I'm especially excited that I'll get the chance to return to Washington next week. While I'll be traveling to West Virginia for my niece's graduation, we'll be taking the opportunity to make the short trip over to the capital for a few sightseeing opportunities, including taking a trolley tour around the national mall to see the memorials. I'm curious to see how my memories of the locations compare, and how my perspectives towards them have deepened. 

Whatever your Memorial Day looked like this year, it's never a bad time to stop, learn, and reflect on the sacrifices that have been made.